The present invention generally is directed to vacuum coating systems. More specifically, the invention is directed to a device for accepting and holding workpieces in a workpiece carrier of a vacuum coating system, wherein the workpiece carrier is positioned within a process chamber of the system so as to convey the workpiece from position-to-position within the process chamber.
The coating of workpieces, for example, compact disks (CD's) is known in vacuum coating technology, particularly in thin film coating technology. Compact disks are a modern storage medium for digital information. Imprinted plastic disks are sputter coated with a layer, for example, an aluminum layer having a thickness of less than 1/10,000 mm.
The sputtering coating systems utilized for this purpose generally include annularly constructed process chambers. Robots load and unload the systems in clean rooms via transfer (loading and unloading) station airlocks. Workpiece carriers convey the workpieces from the airlocks through the annular process chambers. Sputtering ensues with high power sputtering cathodes that are constructed as magnatron cathodes.
Such a system is described in a brochure numbered 12-710.01 produced by Leybold-Heraeus GmbH. This known cathode sputtering system provides single-sided coating of a workpiece with a laser-reflecting aluminum layer. The system employs an annular-horizontally arranged vacuum coating chamber with a loading and unloading station and a ring-shaped turntable which serves as the workpiece carrier. An airlock isolates the pressures between the coating chamber and the loading and unloading station.